Cecilia Ann Wagoner

Posted: Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Juneau resident Cecilia Ann Wagoner died Dec. 30, 2007, following several months of ill health. She was 58.

She was born May 18, 1949. As one of a large family of eight children, she endeared herself to family and friends as a steadfast and loyal friend. She was a lover of beauty and nature and was very happy with her decision to relocate to Alaska in 1970, where she lived until shortly prior to her death. She will be remembered as a person of integrity and a soul absolutely loyal to her family and friends. She combined the independence and spirit of her favorite animals, cats and wolves.

She graduated from Blanchet High School in Seattle in 1967. In 1970, she chose to seek her fortune in Juneau, where she worked for the Veterans Administration and for the Alaska departments of Revenue and Fish and Game. She retired from Fish and Game in 2004. She attended the University of Alaska Southeast, working toward her accounting certification.

Her family appreciates the excellent care she received from Bartlett Regional Hospital, Valley Medical Care, Hospice and Home Care of Juneau, Airlift Northwest and Harborview and Northwest Hospitals in Seattle.

"Deep peace of the earth be with you, Cecilia," her sister said. "And rest for your valiant heart in the land of glaciers and wolves."

She was preceded in death by her father, Buster Wagoner; mother, Rosemary Wagoner; niece, Karen Hagevig; and brother-in-law, Bill Hagevig.

She is survived by her sisters, Rosemary Hagevig, Margaret Garrison and her husband, Dave, Catherine Nance, Helen Knox and her husband, Jim, Barbara Jones, and Dorothy Parsons and her husband, Jeff; and brother, John Wagoner and his wife, Cindy; friends she considered her family, Patricia and Jim Costa; 14 nieces and nephews; and 12 great-nieces and -nephews.

A celebration of her life was held Jan. 19 at St. Madeline Sophie Catholic Church in Seattle. A Juneau celebration of life will be scheduled in the near future.

For those wishing to make a memorial contribution in her name, the family suggests Juneau organizations, the Gastineau Humane Society, 7705 Glacier Highway, or Hospice and Home Care of Juneau, 419 Sixth St.